Despite President Xi Jinping's earlier statements that China would not accept any actions or propositions by any state based on the recent ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the South China Sea dispute, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte insists that formal talks with Beijing would rest on the court's verdict, saying China cannot avoid the ruling at any cost.

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On Friday, Duterte met with China's Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua and explained the Philippines' position on the upcoming bilateral talks between both nations over the maritime territorial dispute. The hour-long meeting between the Philippine president and Zhao took place in Davao City.

"I told the ambassador that we would avoid trouble with Beijing because we cannot afford to lose the chance of bilateral talks to discuss the issue.I will not talk about it in any forum but when we are already face-to-face with Chinese negotiators, then I would state my case," he said.

President Duterte emphasized that he would bring up the ruling of the international arbitration court during the bilateral talks with China, adding that it would form the basis of their discussion.

President Duterte had earlier said he expects the talks to commence this year.

Arbitration court ruling

"Look, I have this arbitral court judgment. We will not go out of the four corners of this paper. Let us talk," Duterte stated.

He said it was not the right time to talk about the arbitration court ruling with China, citing numerous conferences he has to attend as the newly-installed Philippine president.

Duterte, however, emphasized that should Beijing back out from the talks, Manila's armed forces would be ready for any eventualities.

The president said Beijing and Manila should talk about enhancing their cooperation and discuss areas of common interests that would unite the two nations.

Military confrontation

If the talks fail, Duterte said he would have no other option but to ready the armed forces for a possible military confrontation with Beijing.

The Philippine Chief Executive, who is also the country's armed forces commander-in-chief, called on his troops to be ready for war with China.

"So be prepared even with limited talent and capacity. We cannot really produce the missiles and things. We don't care as long as we fight. It will come, maybe sooner than later but we have to prepare," the president said.

Duterte has increased the defense budget for next year to cover recruitment of thousands of soldiers as requested by the defense ministry.

The Philippine defense department said it needs around 20,000 more soldiers to effectively uphold the nation's sovereignty and protect its territories. The president said he could give them 10,000 soldiers for the meantime.

Budget increase

Duterte justified the budget increase citing the need to have more men safeguard the country's territorial integrity and who were ready to fight and die for the country.

"It is always good to have men there, ready to fight and die rather than not having them at all and just surrender just like a meek lamb there. That cannot be," he said.

On July 12, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled that China has no legal basis to its territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea.

The ruling, favoring the Philippines, was handed down after a three-year hearing of a territorial case filed by Manila against Beijing in 2013.

Beijing boycotted the proceedings and dismissed the ruling as "illegal" and "null and void."

The court found Beijing to have violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Philippines' rights to explore the resources within its exclusive economic zone.

This month, Manila's special envoy for the China-Philippines talks on the South China Sea, Fidel Ramos, met with Chinese officials in Hong Kong to lay the groundwork for formal talks to begin in Beijing.

TagsSouth China Sea, China-Philippines formal talks, arbitral court ruling, President Rodrigo Duterte, President Xi Jinping, china